An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Tuesday. (Yonhap)
An electronic board showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at a dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on Tuesday. (Yonhap)

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Tuesday as new US President Donald Trump has not immediately imposed tariffs on his first day in office.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 25.16 points, or 1 percent, to 2,545.21 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Trump started his second term Monday, vowing for his "America First" policy on immigration, tariffs and energy.

However, he held off on immediate tariffs during his first day while signing an order to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement.

In Seoul, most shares opened higher.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 1.31 percent, and its chipmaking rival SK hynix jumped 3.3 percent.

Top carmaker Hyundai Motor advanced 1.2 percent, and its sister Kia increased 2.57 percent.

Energy shares were strong as state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. and Korea Gas Corp. gained 2.41 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.

The local currency was trading at 1,435 won against the US dollar at 9:15 a.m., up 15.6 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)